LATIN DISLIKE OF SANDINISTAS GROWS

GUATEMALA CITY -- As Secretary of State George P. Shultz toured Latin America last week seeking support for the Nicaraguan rebels, he denounced Nicaragua's Sandinista government, describing it as "a cancer" that must be removed.

President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, a critic of the Contras, was no less vehement. He described the Sandinistas' recent crackdown on opposition groups as outrageous.

"While in Costa Rica we give our children computers, the Sandinistas give children machine guns," Arias said. "They have taken off their mask. They were not really honest when they promised to democratize and advance toward a pluralist society."

When Shultz met here Monday with foreign ministers from Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, he found unanimous support for his view that Sandinista rule is repressive and undemocratic.

He also found that Nicaragua's neighbors share his fear that growing Sandinista power and the prospect of a closer Nicaraguan alliance with the Soviet bloc could pose a security threat in the region.

Given these points of agreement, Shultz hoped he could win support for a new military offensive against the Sandinistas. The Reagan administration is pressing Congress to approve new aid for the Contras, despite President Daniel Ortega's warning that any aid would further toughen his stand.

But to the frustration of Shultz, Arias, together with President Vinicio Cerezo of Guatemala, refused to support the Contras. So while Washington and the Central American leaders generally agree about the Sandinistas, they differ on how to confront them.

Shultz's failure to win support for the Contras is largely a product of history. Because the United States imposed its will on Latin American countries for so long, leaders south of the Rio Grande are reluctant to join with Washington. Arias, the author of a regional peace plan signed a year ago today, and Cerezo view Shultz's latest campaign as an effort by Americans to play an uninvited role in regional affairs.

Latin American presidents, including Arias and Ortega, will travel to Ecuador this week for the inauguration of the country's new president, and Shultz will be there too, seeking support for United States policy.